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Talking About Marketing

Talking About Marketing

By: Auscast Network
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Talking About Marketing is a podcast for you to help you thrive in your role as a business owner and/or leader. It's produced by the Talked About Marketing team of Steve Davis and David Olney, with artwork by Casey Cumming. Each marketing podcast episode tips its hat to Philip Kotler's famous "4 Ps of Marketing" (Product, Price, Place, Promotion), by honouring our own 4 Ps of Podcasting; Person, Principles, Problems, and Perspicacity. Person. The aim of life is self-development. To realise one's nature perfectly-that is what each of us is here for. - Oscar Wilde Principles. You can never be overdressed or overeducated. - Oscar Wilde Problems. “I asked the question for the best reason possible, for the only reason, indeed, that excuses anyone for asking any question - simple curiosity. - Oscar Wilde Perspicacity. The one duty we owe to history is to rewrite it. - Oscar Wilde Apart from our love of words, we really love helping people, so we hope this podcast will become a trusted companion for you on your journey in business. We welcome your comments and feedback via podcast@talkedaboutmarketing.com

2025 Auscast Network Economics Marketing Marketing & Sales
Episodes
  • Sorry. Not Sorry. You'll Want To Hear This.

    Sorry. Not Sorry. You'll Want To Hear This.
    May 13 2025
    Rutger Bregman challenges us to create ripple effects from small personal changes that benefit entire communities. Jefferson Fisher revolutionises everyday communication by eliminating power-draining language and embracing uncomfortable directness. A hotel chain’s tone-deaf Mother’s Day spam highlights the need for sensitivity in seasonal marketing. And Golden North’s Giant Twin ice cream becomes a lens for examining whether sharing still resonates in modern advertising. Get ready to take notes. Talking About Marketing podcast episode notes with timecodes 02:00 Person This segment focusses on you, the person, because we believe business is personal.Creating Space for Moral Ambition Starting with Rutger Bregman’s “Moral Ambition: Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making a Difference,” our hosts explore the delicate balance between self-care and societal impact, thanks to Bregman’s appearance on the Making Sense podcast with Sam Harris. Steve introduces the concept of a “Draper Day” (inspired by Mad Men’s Don Draper), suggesting we all need occasional disappearances for genuine recharge – not just mental health days, but proper disconnection. David connects Bregman’s philosophy to the recent Australian federal election, where voters rejected divisive politics that “pointed fingers” and embraced competition over cooperation. The discussion reveals how entropy means nothing maintains itself without effort – whether that’s democracy, business culture, or personal wellbeing. As David notes, every day requires doing “the next necessary thing” to make life better for yourself and those around you. 11:30 Principles This segment focusses principles you can apply in your business today.The Art of Not Apologising (And Other Communication Revelations) Jefferson Fisher’s “The Next Conversation” provides a masterclass in communication refinement that had both hosts reconsidering their linguistic habits. This young Texan attorney’s approach centres on three transformative principles that challenge comfortable communication patterns. First, stop cheapening apologies – replace “sorry I’m late” with “thank you for waiting.” Second, eliminate minimising language like “just” that undermines your right to participate. David recalls teaching university students, particularly women, to stop diminishing their contributions. Third, deliver difficult news directly – the segment’s most confronting lesson involves firing an employee without false pleasantries that raise cruel hope before crushing it. Steve’s admission of chronic over-apologising and David’s observations about gendered language patterns reveal how these seemingly minor shifts dramatically alter perceived authority and confidence. 24:00 Problems This segment answers questions we've received from clients or listeners.When Mother’s Day Marketing Hits Raw Nerves Michael Mills’ scorching Facebook post about receiving multiple Mother’s Day lunch promotions after his mother’s death launches a necessary conversation about marketing sensitivity. The hotel chain’s spam campaign represents a broader failure to consider diverse customer circumstances during emotionally charged holidays. Our hosts highlight positive examples, including Café Belgiorno‘s thoughtful approach acknowledging that for some, Mother’s Day involves cherished memories rather than current celebrations. Etsy’s proactive strategy emerges as best practice – sending pre-emptive emails asking if customers want to opt out of Mother’s Day and Father’s Day promotions entirely. This segment underscores how genuine empathy in marketing requires anticipating customer pain points, not just chasing seasonal revenue. 27:30 Perspicacity This segment is designed to sharpen our thinking by reflecting on a case study from the past.The Evolution of Sharing (Through the Lens of Ice Cream) Golden North‘s marketing journey provides fascinating insight into changing social dynamics through their iconic Giant Twin – an ice cream designed to be snapped and shared. From early provenance-focused ads emphasising their Laura, South Australia heritage to clever visual gags of see-through cows, the brand’s evolution mirrors broader advertising trends. The revelation comes in a 2021 video featuring twins recounting childhood Giant Twin memories – many involving tears and tantrums over forced sharing. This “scarily refreshing” honesty acknowledges that their sharing-focused product often caused conflict rather than fostering harmony. Our hosts explore whether modern campaigns should embrace our increasing individualism (couples buying two) or remind us of sharing’s value. Steve’s vision of children using protractors to divide ice cream mathematically captures both the absurdity and truth of human nature. The discussion ultimately questions whether the “mini taste of sacrifice” inherent in sharing still resonates in ...
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    40 mins
  • The Trouble With Toying Around in Archetypes and Branding

    The Trouble With Toying Around in Archetypes and Branding
    Apr 28 2025
    In Person, we discover why songwriters and business folk alike benefit from fresh eyes that ask the right questions, revealing how collaboration creates outcomes greater than the sum of their parts. Principles explores whether archetypes offer genuine strategic value for businesses or simply provide convenient shortcuts to avoid the hard work of authentic brand development. Problems exposes dubious attempts to charge for Google indexing services that should always be free, reminding us that snake oil salespeople are always finding new bottles. And in Perspicacity, we examine the peculiar trend of executives creating AI-generated action figures of themselves, highlighting the troubling difference between what we can do and what we should do. Are we creating meaningful content or just chasing dopamine? Get ready to take notes. Talking About Marketing podcast episode notes with timecodes 02:00 Person This segment focusses on you, the person, because we believe business is personal.When Another Set of Eyes Asks the Perfect Question What can business owners learn from musical collaborations? Quite a lot, it seems. Drawing from an anecdote about a young composer seeking feedback from a musical theatre legend from Econtalk episode Weep, Shudder, Die: The Secret of Opera Revealed (with Dana Gioia), we discover the power of the perfect question at the right moment. The story features a nervous student bravely presenting a rock opera-style composition based on Ayn Rand’s “Anthem” to a renowned composer. After the impressive performance, rather than offering generic praise or criticism, the master simply asks: “In that instrumental section—what will be happening on stage?” This deceptively simple question opens up entirely new dimensions of thinking. Steve and David explore how this mirrors their experiences in business mentoring, where often it’s not expertise but rather fresh perspective that catalyses breakthroughs. “It’s that wise old head asking that little bit… What are your characters doing on stage at that time?” Steve notes, highlighting how external viewpoints can illuminate blind spots we’ve developed through overexposure to our own work. The conversation reveals a particularly Australian challenge: our tendency toward isolation in small business compared to more collaborative approaches in other entrepreneurial cultures. “In the place that’s meant to be fixated on rugged individualism, there’s a heck of a lot more trying to socialise, connect, and just add value in the ferment of enthusiasm,” David observes about American business culture. 12:00 Principles This segment focusses principles you can apply in your business today.Archetypes as Branding Shortcuts – Compass or Crutch? When Jane McCarthy’s work on feminine archetypes in branding enters the conversation, both hosts approach with healthy scepticism while remaining open to potential value. “I think archetypes are such a double-edged thing,” David reflects, cutting to the heart of the matter: “It’s nice to be recognisable, but if you’re recognisable as an archetype, are you necessarily being recognised as you?” The discussion reveals that archetypes might function best as internal navigational tools rather than external identities. McCarthy’s concept of a “hometown hostess” archetype, as quoted from Marketing Over Coffee episode, The Goddess Guide To Branding, demonstrates how these frameworks provide shorthand for brand behaviour – a “true north” that teams can understand even when founders or consultants aren’t present. This sparks reflection on the mindset behind effective branding: not just selecting colours or crafting taglines, but establishing behavioural patterns that guide decision-making. “Every time you see it, it reinforces quickly… how it is to be on track when you are representing the brand, when you are living as the brand,” Steve explains. The hosts conclude that archetypes might complement rather than replace frameworks like StoryBrand, potentially offering valuable shortcuts when they help teams stay aligned with founding principles. The key insight emerges: an archetype without a story lacks context, while a story without consistent character lacks coherence. 25:00 Problems This segment answers questions we've received from clients or listeners.The Elaborate Con of Charging for Free Services The dubious email promising to “add your domain to Google Search Index” for a fee provides a perfect case study in digital snake oil. “Here’s someone paying for something that’s free,” Steve observes, breaking down the scam’s mechanics with mounting exasperation. The discussion exposes how predatory services exploit knowledge gaps among business owners, charging for basic services that Google offers freely through Search Console. The investigation reveals increasingly troubling details – from fake customer service numbers to overly broad privacy ...
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    42 mins
  • You're Just Too Good To Be True

    You're Just Too Good To Be True
    Apr 14 2025
    Will Guidara’s journey from awestruck 12-year-old at the Four Seasons to creating one of the world’s best restaurants reveals what “unreasonable hospitality” truly means. Disney’s insistence on breathing animatronic birds teaches us why perfection in unseen details creates experiences customers can feel. Steve confesses how a questionable radio crossfade between Deep Purple and Smokie’s Oh Carol sparked an 18-year broadcasting career, while David shares how a teacher’s inspired intervention led him to discover his guiding principle: “how you do anything is how you do everything.” All this, plus a practical solution to website bottlenecks and a healthy skepticism about whether traditional pricing psychology still applies in our cashless world. Get ready to take notes. Talking About Marketing podcast episode notes with timecodes 01:15 Person This segment focusses on you, the person, because we believe business is personal.Those Childhood Moments That Define Our Future Selves Nothing shapes a career path quite like those lightning bolt moments from childhood. Will Guidara, in his brilliant book Unreasonable Hospitality, recounts how his entire professional trajectory was set at age 12 when a Four Seasons server called him “sir” after dropping his napkin. That dignified treatment, the refusal to make a child feel small in a sophisticated space, ignited his passion for hospitality. Steve and David explore how these formative experiences shape our professional identities, with Steve confessing his own watershed moment came at precisely the same age—albeit sparked by something considerably less profound: a jarring radio crossfade between Deep Purple’s Smoke On The Water and Smokie’s Oh Carol that had him thinking, “That looks easy—and you’d get all the girls.” Despite its dubious inspiration, that moment launched an 18-year broadcasting career that no careers counsellor could talk him out of. David’s path proved distinctly different, with uncertainty rather than clarity defining his early professional thoughts. His transformative moment came through a teacher who, recognising his analytical mind (and argumentative tendencies), arranged legal work experience that taught him a crucial lesson: “how you do anything is how you do everything”—a principle that would resurface throughout the episode. 09:30 Principles This segment focusses principles you can apply in your business today.Disney Birds Must Breathe: The Power of Unreasonable Precision Will Guidara’s Unreasonable Hospitality offers a masterclass in intentionality that has Steve and David unpacking its transformative implications for every aspect of business. Guidara’s approach at Eleven Madison Park—requiring staff to position plates so manufacturer stamps would face right-side up if a guest flipped them over—exemplifies what Walt Disney understood decades earlier: “People can feel perfection.” When Disney’s Imagineers protested that no one would notice whether their animatronic birds appeared to breathe in the Enchanted Tiki Room, Disney insisted they add the feature, understanding that details create an emotional response even when not consciously registered. The hosts explore how this meticulous attention applies beyond hospitality—it’s about creating an environment where precision becomes second nature. David connects this to his experiences in Special Operations training, where he witnessed firsthand how an entire culture of exactitude made everyone’s work smoother and more effective. This precision extends to the mundane: putting staplers back exactly where they belong and refilling paper before it runs out. Steve introduces his emerging household philosophy of considering “the next person”—leaving things right for whoever follows, even if that person is your future self. David traces this mindset back to his Hungarian grandmother, who instinctively prepared everything for its next use before walking away. In both hospitality and life, the way you do one thing truly becomes the way you do everything. 18:00 Problems This segment answers questions we've received from clients or listeners.Unblocking the Website Bottleneck What keeps projects stalled in the “too hard” basket? Steve and David examine how their new “Website in a Week” offering tackles three common bottlenecks that plague small business websites. First, there’s the blank page problem—small business owners facing writer’s block when asked to create their own content. Steve’s solution: “Give me 30 minutes of your time. I’ll interview you and take content creation completely off your plate.” Then there’s the deadline dilemma. Without clear timeframes, projects languish indefinitely. The “in a week” commitment creates urgency and clarity for everyone involved. Finally, they address the perfection trap—that paralysing fear of launching something that isn’t 100% perfect. Their ...
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    30 mins
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